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National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich both assailed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Saturday evening for concessions he has made in order to facilitate US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza, even as the premier reportedly sat down with his two harline allies in an effort to keep his coalition intact.
The two far-right ministers have been among the fiercest voices against ending the war as part of previous deals, even in exchange for all the hostages, and both have advocated annexing the Strip and settling it, a proposition that Trump’s Gaza plan explicitly rejects.
Ben Gvir threatened that his far-right Otzma Yehudit party would leave the government if Hamas “continues to exist” after the release of the hostages under the Trump plan.
Ben Gvir said in response to developments over the weekend that his party would not be a part of “a national defeat” and “eternal disgrace,” and would not agree to a situation in which Hamas would be able to reconstitute itself after the end of hostilities.
Under the Trump plan introduced in Washington, DC, earlier this week, once all remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza are released, Hamas members who “commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty,” while those who wish to leave Gaza will be given safe passage.
It was not immediately clear if Ben Gvir meant in his statement that he would leave the government even if Hamas complies with this stipulation of the proposed agreement.
Ben Gvir has threatened countless times to leave the coalition if the war is halted, and temporarily bolted it earlier this year during the last two-month ceasefire-hostage deal, later returning when the truce collapsed.
Smotrich did not make any explicit threat on Saturday night about leaving the government, but was strongly critical of the decision to halt the IDF’s offensive combat operations while efforts are made to work out the details of the Trump plan by negotiators.
The comments by the far-right ministers came following the submission of Hamas’s response to Trump’s plan on Friday, and the cessation of the IDF’s operation to capture Gaza City on Saturday after Trump said his Gaza truce plan was accepted by Hamas and called on Israel to stop bombing the Strip.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a press conference at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem on August 6, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
“In light of recent developments, myself and the Otzma Yehudit faction informed the prime minister in a clear manner: if after the release of the hostages the Hamas terror organization remains in existence, Otzma Yehudit will not be part of the government,” Ben Gvir said in a statement to the press on Saturday night.
“We will not be part of a national defeat which will be an eternal disgrace, and which will turn into a ticking time bomb of the next massacre,” he added.
The far-right minister said his party “would, like everyone, be happy to see the hostages return home,” but that his party “can in no way agree to a scenario in which the terror group that brought about the greatest ever catastrophe upon the State of Israel will be able to resurrect itself.”
Meanwhile, Smotrich was sharply critical of Netanyahu for agreeing to halt the IDF’s offensive in Gaza so that details of the Trump plan for ending the war can be ironed out with Hamas during negotiations.
“The prime minister’s decision to halt the offensive in Gaza and to, for the first time, conduct negotiations not under fire is a serious mistake,” said the far-right minister who heads the Religious Zionism coalition party.
He added that the move is also “a sure recipe for Hamas stalling for time and a growing erosion of the Israeli position, both with respect to the release of the hostages in one go within 72 hours, and with respect to the central war goal of eliminating Hamas and completely demilitarizing Gaza.”
Hebrew media reports said Netanyahu has recently been in close contact with the two far-right leaders, including holding a two-hour meeting Saturday evening with Ben Gvir that Smotrich also partly attended.
The Haaretz daily reported that in recent days, Netanyahu and the two ministers have been in closer contact than was outwardly visible. The premier has been updating them regularly, it said, and spoke to them throughout Shabbat.
Earlier, National Unity-Blue and White party chair Benny Gantz said he would not allow “petty politics” to torpedo Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza.
“Make no mistake — we have a long and complex road ahead of us until all our hostages are returned and the Hamas regime is replaced,” Gantz wrote on X.
“We can’t miss another opportunity,” he continued. “We will do everything in our power so that it will happen and ensure that petty politics do not derail President Trump’s framework.”
Similarly, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid has said multiple times that his Yesh Atid would grant Netanyahu a safety net to implement a Gaza deal that returns all of the hostages, even if the far-right coalition parties oppose it or threaten to quit the coalition.
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